LONDON (Reuters) - A gluten-free vegan diet full of nuts,
sunflower seeds, fruit and vegetables appears to offer
protection against heart attacks and strokes for people with
rheumatoid arthritis, Swedish researchers said on Tuesday.

The diet appeared to lower cholesterol and also affect the
immune system, easing some symptoms associated with the painful
joint condition, they said.

The study suggested diet could play an important role for
people with rheumatoid arthritis who are often more prone to
heart attacks, strokes and clogged arteries, said a team from
Sweden's Karolinska Institute.

"These findings are compatible with previous results of
vegetarian/vegan dietary regimens in non-rheumatoid arthritis
subjects which have shown lower blood pressure, lower body mass
index and lower incidence of cardiovascular disease," the
researchers wrote in the journal Arthritis Research and
Therapy.

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About 20 million people worldwide have rheumatoid
arthritis, an autoimmune disease caused when the body confuses
healthy tissues for foreign substances and attacks itself.

In the study, Johan Frostegard of the Karolinska Institute
in Stockholm and colleagues put 38 volunteers on gluten-free
vegan foods and had the other 28 people eat a balanced but
non-vegan diet for one year.

The people on the diet excluding animal products and
gluten, found in wheat, rye and barley, had lower levels of
low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, the so-called "bad
cholesterol" which can lead to clogged arteries. They also lost
weight while the volunteers on the other diet showed no change.

The researchers said further study was needed to determine
the roles the different foods may play in offering protective
benefits against heart attacks and strokes.

Last week Finnish researchers said a once-a-week generic
pill to treat the disease significantly reduced the risk of
heart attacks and strokes for people with the condition.

Recent studies have also showed that newer drugs that block
an inflammatory protein called tumor necrosis factor, or TNF,
were also effective at reducing heart attack and stroke risk
for people with the condition.

Evidence suggests that LDL could be involved in improper
immune system activation, the researchers said in the report,
available freely online at http://arthritis-research.com/.

They said the volunteers on the vegan diet had lower levels
of C reactive protein, a compound that indicates levels of
inflammation in the body and which is linked with heart
disease.